About us

The Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature places a high value on the structured interaction between our students and neighboring institutions, a pedagogical tool known as Academic Service-Learning. It is a key component of a growing list of courses that currently includes:

FRE 3400: Advanced French I

FRE 3401: Advance French II

FRW 3122: French Literature and Civilization

FRW 4554: Postcolonial France

ITA 2221: Intermediate Italian Language and Culture II

ITA 3420: Advanced Italian

LIT 2100: Intro to World Literature

SPN 2221: Intermediate Spanish II (for non-Heritage Speakers)

SPN 2341: Intermediate Spanish for Heritage Speakers

Students in these courses travel regularly to nearby nursing homes, public housing communities, area high schools, and local churches where they employ communicative skills in lingua to provide important services. Students unable to travel off campus, tutor their peers enrolled in lower-level languages classes. Our students benefit from these structured interactions in multiple ways. First, they typically gain increased confidence in their ability to communicate in a foreign language, while simultaneously experiencing first-hand the general usefulness of knowing multiple languages. Second, students generally gain a stronger sense of civic engagement and connectedness with the communities that lay beyond the university setting. It is our view that this leads to the creation of a more engaged citizenry, that is, the creation of citizens who are more likely to participate in the democratic process and actively seek solutions to social problems. Third, students grow their individual network of contacts, and general work experience, upon which they will rely when searching for employment following graduation from Florida Atlantic University. The department believes strongly that Academic Service-Learning helps the entire university and its future, in multiple and extremely important ways. Ample research illustrates that the overall academic performance of students who engage in AS-L is notably better than that of peers who do not. ASL is a vital pedagogical tool which can help students feel a closer connection to their degree program, and can help them stay on track for a timely graduation. Equally important, students who engage in AS-L are more likely to be engaged alumni, something that is key to every university’s future. The success of our efforts depends not only on the hard work of our department's dedicated faculty but also the thoughtful cooperation of our FAU colleagues, our neighboring institutions, and the kind generosity of donors. If you are interested in, and/or able to help our future in any way, please contact us or tell us when we may contact you (Schedule phone call or visit by clicking here).